I've heard lots of artists describe their creative projects as their "children". I can understand that, but I don't feel that way myself. I do love to build a comic up out of thoughts, shape it, and send it into the world, but I know my work is all mine, in a way that a child won't be. Now that Mutha Magazine has posted "We Conceive", the first comic about my pregnancy, I'm even more certain that growing a baby is very different from growing a comic! First of all, the baby is growing with no mental effort on my part. With the exception of a tiny bit of awesome start-up material from my beloved husband, my viable fetus is made entirely out of my own body, but once he is born, he'll be his own person. For now though, he's still a part of me.
When I'm making comics, I feel like I am working on a puzzle. I gather the pieces and make them fit (shaving them down and adding to them as necessary until it works.) Creating art is hard work,but creating a baby makes me feel like a god! This kind of creativity is actually pretty easy, and I enjoy it too! That realization (that I am like a god) makes me think about abortion rights. If I'm a god - capable of making an actual person in my belly - who is anyone else to tell me that I don't get to decide whether I should complete the process or not? The panel above, from We Conceive, is a nod to this particular power women have, and the discomfort some people feel when they are confronted with that power.
Want to read NONPARTUM in print? Check out Copacetic Comics online or in Pittsburgh (worth a hike up the stairs in your third trimester!) for a print copy with all new bonus material.
When I'm making comics, I feel like I am working on a puzzle. I gather the pieces and make them fit (shaving them down and adding to them as necessary until it works.) Creating art is hard work,but creating a baby makes me feel like a god! This kind of creativity is actually pretty easy, and I enjoy it too! That realization (that I am like a god) makes me think about abortion rights. If I'm a god - capable of making an actual person in my belly - who is anyone else to tell me that I don't get to decide whether I should complete the process or not? The panel above, from We Conceive, is a nod to this particular power women have, and the discomfort some people feel when they are confronted with that power.
Want to read NONPARTUM in print? Check out Copacetic Comics online or in Pittsburgh (worth a hike up the stairs in your third trimester!) for a print copy with all new bonus material.
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